Unity
by Lil Hawk
Summary: Two students from each house have been selected to participate in a new programme at Hogwarts, designed to create house unity.
1. Chapter 1

The sun was shining, it was another beautiful day, Hermione thought as she sunk back into her seat, allowing the familiar sounds of the Hogwarts Express to relax her as they continued their journey to school. It was her sixth year attending Hogwarts and she had never been more excited. Earlier in the holidays she had received a letter from Professor Dumbledore himself, congratulating her on being selected for an extra-curricular program that was being trialled for the first time at Hogwarts.

She allowed herself a moment to consider the program, she had received very little information about it, only that she was requested to meet with her Head of House, Professor McGonagall prior to the welcoming ceremony, and that she had needed to get a form signed by her parents, allowing for a temporary change in her accommodation. She secretly hoped the new room would be closer to the library, while she shouldn't really complain about the exercise after five years of travelling up and down seven flights of stairs she felt a break was finally in order.

Neither of her two closest friends Harry Potter or Ronald Weasley appeared to be a part, and no one in the Weasley household seemed to know what the program was about, that or they weren't telling her, though everyone was rather busy these days. They had spent a great deal of the summer continuing to clean up Sirius' house, Harry having left it to the Order allowed them to do more, as they no longer needed permission to destroy things or throw them away.

Hermione was not fussed though, while she was no rule breaker or rebel, she had grown braver over the years, and was not afraid of the unknown, or giving things a go. She could not wait.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her two best friends loudly arriving back in their train compartment, they had allowed her the room to change into her uniform while they went and changed in the bathroom. Hermione had been pleasantly surprised by this, the boys had rarely been mean to her, but they occasionally thought of her as "one of the guys" and privacy and tact was usually lacking, particularly with Ron.

Conversation was dominated by one particular topic, Harry had become almost obsessed with Professor Slughorn, the new teacher who would begin this year. By Harry's account the man seemed rather timid and not what they had expected from a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, though they were sure he couldn't be any worse than Umbridge the year before. Truth be told, they never did find out if she ever made her way out of the forest. Everyone in the wizarding community had become rather secretive after discovering "You-Know-Who" was indeed back. While this terrified Hermione, and she worried for her parents, she knew that she was safe at Hogwarts, as long as Professor Dumbledore was there, the students could not be harmed.

Before long the students arrived at their destination, and Hermione was off to meet her Head of House, she wondered who else would be participating in the program, what it would entail, what she could learn, what opportunities it would lead to. She walked through the familiar corridors, reminiscing about the previous years, how she had first became friends with Harry and Ron, and all their adventures together. She had never thought she would make such great friends in her time here, having always been a bit of a loner in her hometown.

Arriving at Professor McGonagall's office she was surprised to see another friend, Neville Longbottom. He was never the smartest boy, apart from herbology, Hermione had spent many hours over the years helping him to ensure he at least got decent grades and passed his OWL's. Smiling briefly at him she turned her attention to her teacher, who was sitting at her desk and splitting a stack of parchment into two, which she in turn handed a stack each to Hermione and Neville.

Professor McGonagall glanced at the pair and cleared her throat.  
"I would first like to congratulate the two of you in being selected for this programme, and also to thank you for your participation. The main goal is to increase the unity between the houses, we are nearing the end of your years at Hogwarts, and we feel that it is important to branch out from your houses, and connect with others" she began. She went on to inform them that two students had been selected from each house, and between the eight students chosen they would all be paired with someone from another house. They would then be required to share residence with their partner, and work together as often as possible in classes.

Hermione was buzzing with excitement, she herself had wished the houses weren't so separate, mostly anyway, she wasn't fussed with the Slytherins, but she would have liked to get to know the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws more before they were all thrown out into the world. Connections are important in the muggle world, and she was smart enough to know it wasn't always about what you know, but who you know that could get you ahead in the world.

"Tonight you shall spend the night in your dormitories, however in the morning you will be required to pack your things and meet by Hagrids hut for further information, I trust you know where that is" Professor McGonagall said by way of dismissal.

"I'm surprised I got selected" Neville confided as the pair walked back to the common room, "I'm not that special, I don't have your brains, Ron's bravery, Harry's skill.. I'm not even that popular" he said.

"You're special in your own ways Neville, I think you're a perfect choice, you are one of the nicest of Gryffindors, you stand up for your friends, tell me that is loyalty, you came to the Ministry with us! You faced Death Eaters and survived! Tell me that doesn't take bravery or courage! The most important characteristics of a true Gryffindor Neville, I honestly don't think there's anyone better than you to be representing us" Hermione said with a smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

It was true, Harry and Ron were rather hot headed and definitely not always up for change. Hermione was glad Neville was getting some recognition and being an active member of the house, she quietly bid him goodnight and went to bed early, unable to wait for the next day to begin.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun had barely risen in the sky as Hermione got in the shower, she had always been an early riser, but her sheer excitement had made sleeping longer impossible. She had already packed all of her belongings back into her trunk, it hadn't taken long considering she never unpacked in the first place, and moved her trunk to the common room entrance. Deciding it was too early to go down for breakfast she shuffled around the bathroom a little while longer. She did not want to disturb the other girls who were still sleeping. She knew how they were if their 'beauty rest' was disturbed. The whole concept was laughable, especially considering how much makeup they put on anyway.

Hermione caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she knew she wasn't what any of the boys would call 'a stunner' but she knew she had developed an elegant sort of beauty. On a whim she pulled out her makeup bag. She had time to kill and all of her books were already packed. Makeup wasn't something she wore often, usually just when she was going out somewhere special, or just wanted to look a little nicer one day, to boost her confidence.

It didn't take her long, she was a minimalist after all, and almost twenty minutes later she was on her way to the Great Hall to have some breakfast. Neville was already there picking at some toast, the poor boy looked like he had barely slept. Hermione gave him a reassuring smile before taking a seat next to him. They kept conversation small as they ate, and watched the hall slowly fill up around them. Harry and Ron hadn't made an appearance before Hermione and Neville had to go to Hagrids hut, but Neville assured Hermione he spoke to the two boys about the programme.

As they made their way over to Hagrids, they were surprised to see two huts similar to Hagrids, only bigger a small distance away, there stood Professor Dumbledore and a handful of other students. Hermion recognised Lisa Turpin and Terry Booth from Ravenclaw, Susan Bones and Zacharias Smith from Hufflepuff and Milicent Bulstrode from Slytherin. Meaning that there was only one student left to wait for. Hermione wondered who it could be, while she had not spoken to many of the others much, she had no problems with any of them and they all mingled briefly while they waited.

It wasn't a long wait however, as a figure was soon seen walking towards them. Hermione shielded her eyes from the sun, squinting to see who it could be. It was none other than Draco Malfoy. Typical, of course Professor Snape would have chosen him, Hermione thought biting her tongue. She was done being treated poorly from the stuck up boy, and if he started on her this year she was not backing down without a fight. For now however she simply turned her back on him and waited for the Headmaster to begin.

Moment later he spoke "Now that we are all here I would like to personally thank you all again, there are dark times ahead and we can all use all the friends we can." There was a twinkle in his eye, Hermione secretly wondered how many girls fell for it in his younger years. Albus clapped his hands "You will be separated into two groups, one person from each house will be in each group, these groups will be your new "house mates" as such" he continued gesturing to the two hut like houses behind him. "And in these groups you will be given a partner, who you will work with in classes and hopefully befriend over the year".

"I will now read the first group, Neville Longbottom, you will be partnered with Lisa Turpin, and share residence with Zacharias Smith and Milicent Bulstrode. The four of you shall live in house number one. That leaves Hermione Granger, paired with Draco Malfoy, and Terry Boot paired with Susan Bones in house two, I trust you will all get acquainted with each other, and know that socialising between the houses is encouraged " Dumbledore said.

Hermione was filled with dread, she knew she could have easily avoided Malfoy even if they had had to share a house, but to be partnered with him too? This must have been some cruel joke. Without looking back at Malfoy who was still somewhere behind her, she followed Susan into the house where they shared a look. They were never close to one another, but there was an unspoken agreement between the two to look out for each other.

The huts while appearing small on the outside opened into a spacious common room, with an assortment of chairs and lounges spread around a fire place. There were four doors leading off, all with names so everyone knew which was theirs. The boys were to the left, and the girls were to the right. Hermione instantly walked to her room, and distracted herself by putting away her belongings. She felt absolutely miserable. She was all for house unity, but she had never had a conversation with Malfoy that didn't end in some sort of verbal fight, sometimes even magical or physical fights.

Her brooding was interrupted by a knock on the door, before Susan came in, not even bothering to wait for a response.  
"Hey, everyone's meeting out the front, figured we would give this thing a decent go and see about getting to know each other better" Susan said before taking Hermione's arm and all but dragging her out the door. It seemed at least one of Hermione's housemates was a social go-getter.


	3. Chapter 3

The group of eight sat in a jumbled circle, Hermione had been surprised to see Malfoy was there, not that he looked happy about it.  
Once again Susan proved not to be shy as she started talking to everyone "I thought a nice way to get to know each other would be to talk about our plans for the future. I'm sure we all have things in our past that we want to be left there, and I think we should all respect that, and look towards the future!" She said with a bright smile, Hermione rolled her eyes slightly, not wanting to be impolite, but thinking it was clear Susan had been talking to her aunt, most government officials tended to talk like that, particularly muggle politicians which Hermione had the most experience with.

"I'll begin" Susan continued, not waiting for a response from her peers "I'm Susan. I'm hoping after I leave Hogwarts to get a career as a historian, I find history simply fascinating, and I don't mean the stuff Professor Binns is always mumbling about, I mean wizarding history! Did you guys know there is actually a lamp that is home to a genie? I heard it was somewhere in Peru the last anyone knew, but the genie has been recorded to grant wishes! I hope to find it one day!" Susan explained, Hermione thought they would be able to become friends at some point. She could always get along with someone who valued education, and was searching for a purpose in life.  
"How about you Neville?" Susan asked.

Neville stuttered a little and glanced around the group "Well, I've been studying plants quite a lot.. I've read about many different plants which have an effect on human memory" Neville briefly looked at Malfoy "My parents… I want to become a researcher and hopefully find a way to help them" He continued quickly, losing what little courage he had speaking in front of the group.

"I think that's very noble of you Neville" Lisa said with a sweet smile, before taking the attention off of him. "I don't know what I want to do with myself in the future, sometimes I dream of being a journalist, and reporting on important events, not the rubbish you read these days, or sometimes I dream of writing children's books, filling the world with a little more joy" Lisa finished.

One by one they went around the group, not everyone knew what they wanted to do, and no one judged each other for what was said, Milicent purely wanted to keep her father happy, and carry on her duties as a female pureblood, Terry wanted to be a Quidditch star, he found inspiration after the world cup years before however didn't make it onto a team. Hermione told of her dreams to make the transition for new muggleborn witches and wizards easier, explaining how she felt like she had been thrown into a whole new world and left to find her way by herself.

Malfoy took some pushing from Milicent before he spoke up, but in the end all he ended up saying was he wanted to make his family proud.  
In the spirit of unity Hermione responded to him "Everyone wants their parents to be proud of them" she said catching his eye. It was a mistake. Malfoys lips quickly turned into a sneer and in a mocking voice he said "I'm sure your parents are proud of you mudblood. Stealing magic and tarnishing our world".

"Honestly, are you still that single minded Malfoy? You should know better than anyone by now that your blood has nothing to do with your actual magic ability. Accept it, this is my world too." Hermione said, sounding condescending and giving a sickly sweet smile.

"Whats that meant to mean?" Malfoy spat back.

"Well, clearly I am much better than you are. Either your so called 'pureblood' is faulty, or you're wrong" Hermione said back, baiting him.

"I'd watch your tongue if I were you, you don't know who you're dealing with" Malfoy responded

"I know who I'm dealing with, Malfoy, king of the jerks" Hermione snarled back, before standing and walking back into her house. They hadn't even gotten through the first day without starting on each other. This course wasn't off to a good start.

"Hermione! Wait!" Neville called, chasing after her.  
"I know he is a prat, we both know he isn't worth our time, but for the sake of unity… I… I think it's really important.. You know?" he faltered, clearly he hadn't thought about what he was going to say.

"I know it is, that boy just infuriates me, and he is always calling me names, no matter what I do, and everything he says is clearly baloney anyway!" Hermione said, running a hand through her hair.

"Did you seriously just say baloney?" Neville asked, a grin sneaking over his lips, causing the two friends to laugh

"Oh look, Grangers gone mad!" came Malfoys barking laugh, he must have followed behind Neville, he didn't stop for a response, just picked up his book bag and left to go to class.


End file.
